CURRENT AFFAIRS: DAYS
Indian Foreign Service Day
- IFS Day is celebrated on 9 October every year since 2011 to commemorate the day the Indian Cabinet created the IFS.
- Their work towards serving the nation and furthering national interests globally are commendable.
World Migratory Bird Day (WMBD)
- World Migratory Bird Day (WMBD)is an annual awareness-raising campaign highlighting the need for the conservation of migratory birds and their habitats.
- The Day is celebrated bi-annually on the second Saturday in May and in October.
- This year it falls on 9May and 10th
- This year thetheme of World Migratory Bird Day is “Birds Connect Our World”
World Day Against the Death Penalty
- Every year 10th October marks the World Day Against the Death Penalty.
- It is a day to advocate for the abolition of the death penalty and to raise awareness of the conditions and the circumstances which affect prisoners with death sentences.
- The day was first organised by the World Coalition Against the Death Penalty in 2003.
- 18th edition theme is “Access to counsel – A matter of life or death.”
International Day of the Girl Child
- Every year on 11 October, the International Day of the Girl, UNICEF launches an annual campaign with girls to amplify their voices and stand up for their rights.It is celebrated since 2012.
- This year, under the theme, “My voice, our equal future”
CURRENT AFFAIRS: NATIONAL
Coal Ministry launches website for research endeavors in coal sector
- Ministry of Coal has launched the website to promote Research & Development (R&D) activities of the ministry and attract research institutes for R&D endeavors in coal sector.
- Shri Anil Jain launched the website (https://scienceandtech.cmpdi.co.in/) during the 56th meeting of Standing Scientific Research Committee of the Ministry. Coal India R&D arm, Central Mines Planning & Design Institute Limited (CMPDI) has designed and developed this website.
- The website will help in disseminating and promoting the knowledge and research work in the coal sector.
- MoC has been promoting R&D activities in Coal & Lignite sectors through its Coal Science & Technology (S&T) Plan for improvement in production, productivity, safety, coal beneficiation & utilization, protection of environment & ecology, clean coal technology & allied fields etc. MoC also provides funds to carry out research work on these subjects.
About MoC
- Minister of Coalwith additional portofolio Parliamentary Affairs and Mines: Pralhad Venkatesh Joshi
- Constituency: Dharwad, Karnataka
Narendra Modi launches physical distribution of property cards under SWAMITVA scheme
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi has launched the physical distribution of property cards under the SVAMITVA(Survey of Villages And Mapping With Improvised Technology In Village Areas) scheme via videoconferencing that enables rural masses to use the property as a financial asset.
- The move will pave the way for villagers to use property as a financial asset for taking loans and other financial benefits.
- The launch will enable around one lakh property holders to download their property cards through an SMS link sent on their mobile phones, and this would be followed by the physical distribution of property cards by respective state governments.
- Prime Minister Modi also interacted with some of the beneficiaries during the event. Union Minister for Panchayati Raj and Rural Development Narendra Singh Tomar were present.
About Property Card
- A property card is the land record of ownership and history of ownership of the land in an urban area. Normally, when your land property is located in a municipal area and has got city survey number, the details of transfers of ownership/ transactions of such property are recorded in the property card. So, a property card basically provides information about the ownership of a property and the history of holdings of land located in an urban area. If you are planning to buy land in an urban area, it is essential that you check the property card of the seller and ensure his/her ownership of the land.
Details included in Property Card:
- Name of the landowner
- Survey number of land
- Area of the land
- Location
- Changes in ownership
- Details of loans taken by the owner from government agencies
- Details of pending litigations, if any
- Details of tax levied on the land. This includes paid and unpaid taxes
PM Modi releases Rs 100 commemorative coin in honour of Vijaya Raje Scindia
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi released a commemorative 100 rupee coin in the honour of Vijaya Raje Scindia. One of the founder members of BJP, Vijaya Raje Scindia is also popularly known as the Rajmata of Gwalior.
- The special commemorative coin was minted by the Finance Ministry as a part of these celebrations.
- She was a Jana Sangh leader and one of the founding members of the BJP.
- Coming from a royal family, Scindia was one of the major faces of the saffron party and vocal proponent of its core Hindutva issues.
- She was born on October 12, 1919. Her daughter Vasundhara Raje and grandson Jyotiraditya Scindia are senior BJP leaders.
All eight beaches recommended by Govt gets coveted International Blueflag Certification: Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar
- Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar stated that all eight beaches recommended by the Government has got the coveted International Blueflag Certification.
- The beaches which got International Blueflag Certification are Shivrajpur beach in Dwarka Gujarat, Ghoghla beach in Diu, Kasarkod and Padubidri in Karnataka, Kappad in Kerala, Rushikonda in Andhra Pradesh, Golden Beach in Odisha and Radhanagar beach in Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
- The iconic Blue Flag is one of the world’s most recognised voluntary awards for beaches, marinas.
- In order to qualify for the Blue Flag, a series of stringent environmental, educational, safety and accessibility criteria is met and maintained.
- A world-renowned award trusted by millions around the globe, the Blue Flag programme is operated under the auspices of the Foundation for Environmental Education, FEE and is headquartered in Copenhagen, Denmark.
About Blue Flag:
- The Blue Flag is a certification by the Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE) that a beach, marina, or sustainable boating tourism operator meets its standards. The Blue Flag is a trademark owned by FEE which is a not-for-profit non-governmental organisation consisting of 65 organisations in 60 member countries.
Nirmala Sitharaman announces major schemes to boost demand in country by Rs 73,000 Cr
- Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced major schemes to boost demands in the country by nearly 73 thousand crore rupees.
- Sitharaman informed that the new proposals aim at giving a thrust of around 36 thousand crore rupees to the consumer demands by the Leave Travel Concession LTC Voucher and Festival advance scheme. Additionally she stated, 37 thousand crore rupees will be infused in the capital expenditure by the Centre and the State Governments.
- The Finance Minister informed that the new proposal is likely to cost nearly 5 thousand 675 crore rupees to the Central Government. In her announcement towards special assistance for states for utilisation under capital expenditure, the Finance Minister informed that special interest free loans with a 50 year repayment term and amounting to 12 thousand crore rupees will be disbursed. Under the assistance scheme, 2 thousand 500 crore rupees will be given to the North Eastern States and Northern States Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand. Seven thousand 500 crore rupees will be given to other states in proportion to their share in Finance Commission devolution.
- The Minister also announced that an additional amount of 25 thousand crore rupees will be provided by the Centre through capital expenditure on roads, defence infrastructure, water supply, urban development and domestically produced capital equipment.
About Ministry of Finance:
- Nirmala Sitharaman, Cabinet Minister
- Constituency: Karnataka
- Anurag Thakur, Minister of State for Finance
CURRENT AFFAIRS: BANKING AND FINANCE
RBI to discontinue system-based automatic caution-listing of exporters
- In an effort to provide flexibility to exporters in the realisation of export proceeds, the Reserve Bank has decided to discontinue the system-based automatic caution-listing of exporters.
- As part of automation of the Export Data Processing and Monitoring System, the ‘Caution/De-caution Listing’ of exporters was automated in 2016. Accordingly, the exporters were to be caution-listed automatically, if any shipping bill against them remained outstanding for more than two years.
- After contracting for six months in a row, India’s exports grew by 5.27 percent year-on-year to 27.4 billion dollars in September while the trade deficit narrowed to a three-month low of 2.91 billion dollars.
ACC extends tenure of 3 Executive Directors of PSU banks
- The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) has approved the extension of the term of three Executive Directors (EDs) in various Public Sector Banks (PSBs).
- The Department of Financial Services in the Finance Ministry had made these proposals based on the recommendations of the Banks Board Bureau (BBB).
